by Bridy McAvoy
One moment Julia had been serenely piloting the sailboat around the small island in the middle of the lake. The next a sudden squall of wind ruffled the waves to her starboard side. She had enough time to register the way the strong gust rippled and ruffled the surface of the water, next the sail filled with a hollow booming sound. She shrieked in panic as the boat started to heel over as the wind hit it beam on. She tried to force the tiller round, and the boat partially righted itself.
The wind, though, was carrying the little boat almost sideways rather than forward. Already, she could see the buoy marking the edge of the shallow water was ten yards to her right and the gap widening. Since the island was to her port side, she had seconds to brace before running aground. She could see the rocky beach coming up in front of her, and there was nothing she could do. She hung on to the tiller with one hand, her other hand clasped around the lanyard of her life vest, ready to inflate it if she felt herself going over.
The little boat hit with a glancing blow, the wind dying away in that last crucial second. Bouncing off one rock, the boat ground into the pebble beach, as neat as you like, between two other rocks.
Julia gave a huge sigh of relief then checked the bottom of the boat. It remained dry, except for some splashing from the impact. Reaching up, she pulled the rope and dropped the sail into the body of the sailboat, then remembering the drill her husband, Max, and the boatyard owner, Chris, had insisted she learned, she dropped the anchor over the side to keep the boat secure.
Allowing her breathing to calm, she stayed still for a couple of minutes, her glance darting from side to side as she made sure the boat was both secure and the hull remained intact. There were no leaks, so she started to take stock of her situation. As she’d approached the island there’d been several other small pleasure craft on the lake, but the sudden squall seemed to have caught them all, and every other boat had scurried for shelter. Where before there’d been eight or ten near to her, now there were none. She doubted any of the others had seen what happened to her, and the island was just that little bit too far away for anyone to see her with the naked eye from the lake shore.
Grabbing her phone, she made sure it was undamaged but groaned in dismay when she saw she had no battery life at all. She knew Max would go nuts when he found out she’d gone out on the lake with a dead cell battery. This was not looking good, not at all. Not being prepared to take the tiny boat out onto open water again without being sure it was okay—even if it looked okay, she couldn’t be certain—she had few options. A dead phone made her options even fewer.
After a couple of minutes of frowning at everything and nothing in particular, she remembered there was a small jetty on the far side of the small island, and a hut with emergency supplies, including flares.
She took a quick stock of herself. She’d not intended to be out long, so hadn’t dressed for a protracted exposure. A giggle erupted from her lips. She was the epitome of a cartoon castaway damsel-in-distress, a tight T-shirt, even tighter shorts, canvas shoes and a life vest over the top. Not exactly survival gear. Still, if she could get to those flares, then she wouldn’t be here for long.
There was a few feet of shallow water between her and the shore, but there was no other way. She gritted her teeth and stepped over the side of the boat. She couldn’t prevent the yelp as the cold of the lake enveloped her lower legs and by the time she’d waded ashore her legs felt like ice. Another reminder that she should be wearing better clothing. Or at least carrying something to dry herself off with – her legs were wet, and her shoes sopping.
She needed to dry her legs, at least, before she caught a chill, so there was only one thing for it. Squatting down, she slipped her feet out of her shoes and upended them to get as much of the water out as possible. While she was doing that, she cursed the fact she’d not slipped them off before stepping into the water, thus keeping them dry. Undoing the catch on the life vest, she slipped that off then reached down and grabbed the hem of her T-shirt. At least she’d had the sense to wear a bikini under the shirt, so she was decently covered. The T-shirt came off over her head, and she slipped the life vest back on but didn’t do the catch, not wanting it to chafe her now exposed skin.
The T-shirt made a poor substitute for a towel, however it did get her dry, but there was no way she could put it back on. She grimaced as she realized she now needed to get off the island before dark, having sacrificed a layer of clothing. It got cold after dark, especially out on the lake.
She sat still for a few minutes, letting the lunchtime sun soak into her body and remove the chill from her legs. It was unbelievable how cold the water had been. Still, she couldn’t sit there too long. The sunscreen she’d got was still in the boat, and she burned easily. The boat might not be going anywhere soon, but there was no way she was going to get wet, and cold, again to retrieve the tube of cream.
Her shoes had dried out a bit in the sun too, although they were still damp. At least they were bearable and no longer slopping water everywhere. The island was about a quarter mile long and no more than a hundred yards at its widest. She’d run aground near the southern tip and, if she remembered right, the jetty and hut were more or less in the middle on the other side of the small island. Although not often visited, she could see a faint path up and over the crest of the island. Someone or several someones came here often enough to leave their mark. At least she wouldn’t have to use guesswork to find the best route up and over the rocky outcrops.
* * * *
Ten minutes later she crested the top of the hill. Two things happened at once. A pair of small birds burst from a bush right beside the trail she was following. For small birds, they made a lot of noise as they flew off. Julia took a startled pace backward. At the same time a bush on the other side of the trail burst open and as a man stood up.
“You clumsy fucking broad.”
She covered her mouth with her hand in further shock.
“You stupid, noisy, clumsy, fucking thick bitch. I spent two hours stalking those two birds, and you ruined my shot in two fucking seconds. God! I can’t believe it. I can’t fucking believe it!”
Julia could feel the color drain from her features as she faced this raving madman. Close up, she could see he was the wrong side of forty, nearer fifty even though his face was contorted with rage. She could feel her own anger rising. Nobody spoke to her like that, not even her husband.
“I’m sorry, what did you just call me?”
There was another rustle from the bush where the man had emerged. “Now, uncle, calm down. You know it doesn’t help getting upset like this.”
The young woman shot a look toward Julia that said don’t make it worse, but Julia had recovered from her initial shock and her own anger now matched that of the arrogant man. She could now see the camera with the huge telephoto lens attached to the front. Expensive kit—she knew that from her association with Steve.
“I’m sorry. Do you own this island?”
“No, but that’s not the point. What are you doing here?”
“What I’m doing here is looking for help since I ran aground half an hour ago.”
The young woman moved past her uncle—well, she’d called him uncle—doing so by the simple expedient of placing her palm on his chest and pushing him backward.
“Run aground? Are you hurt?”
Julia allowed herself a tight smile. “Only my pride.”
“Is the boat damaged?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so, but it’s stuck fast. I was heading for the emergency shack when your uncle made me jump.”
“You made us jump. Don’t you know to tread quietly?” He was still glowering at her, but he seemed to have calmed a little.
“No, why would I need to?”
“Because this is one of the few places in this country where Ivory-billed Woodpeckers are believed to nest.”
“Oh. And I would know that how?”
“Well, if you knew anything about ornithology…”<
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“Well, I don’t.”
“As I was saying, if you knew anything about ornithology, you’d know how important a picture of a pair of birds in the wild would be.”
Julia rolled her eyes. The guy was a fanatic, that was obvious. “Well, I’m sorry I spoiled your hunt, but I need to get down to the shack by the jetty and summon help.”
The young woman shook her head. “You won’t have much luck, I’m afraid. The shack is empty. When we tied up there this morning the door was hanging off its hinges and the shack was empty. It looks like someone raided the place and emptied it.”
“Shit! Now how am I going to get off this island?”
The younger woman rolled her eyes then glanced over toward her uncle. “Sweetie, how do you think we got to the island? Would we leave you here?” She moved down the path a few yards and the jetty came into view as Julia followed her.
A feeling of relief washed through Julia. “No, I guess not. Of course not, no.”
“So, we’ll give her a lift back to the shore when we leave, won’t we, uncle?” The older man didn’t reply, just glared out across the lake in the direction the pair of birds had taken. “Won’t we, uncle?”
He sighed and turned his head around to look in their direction. “I guess so, yes. Yes, we will, but where are the birds I came here to photograph?”
The woman put a hand on her hip and thrust her hip out to the side, assuming an exaggerated model pose. “I guess you’ll have to settle for second best, then.”
The man walked back toward them, leaving the nest site behind. The camera bumped against his chest from where it hung on its strap. He smiled at his niece then turned his gaze to Julia, staring straight into her eyes. Julia’s mouth felt dry, and she licked her lips.
“Well, I said birds, plural.”
“There’s two of us.”
“Our new friend doesn’t seem so keen. But I guess she’ll do.” Before Julia could reply, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. Since she could see the jetty with the small powerboat roped to it, the meaning was obvious as he rattled the keys. Pose with his niece for a few pictures as the price for the ride across the lake to summon help. He put the keys back into his pocket as she nodded. Like she had any other choice.
“I’m Julia by the way.”
“Hank, and this is Katie.”
“Pleased to meet you, well, maybe in other circumstances.”
“How about that glade over there, ladies? The light will be good, and I can get the pictures of a couple of birds.” He giggled, and Julia was pleased his anger seemed to have dissipated. Katie grabbed her hand and led her over toward the grassy area.
“Come on, soonest done, soonest back to the shore. Where do you need to be?”
“I guess Chris’s boatyard is the best place. They look after the boat for us and I guess they can recover it.”
“Good idea. In fact, we’d be going there anyway, it’s where we hired the run-around from.”
“Run-around? Oh, I worked it out, you mean the power boat.”
Katie laughed. “Not exactly a power boat. I doubt it would do ten knots with a following wind, or off a waterfall, let alone on a flat calm lake.”
They turned back to face the trail, to find Hank had followed them, his camera up to his face and angled down. It appeared he’d been shooting images of the pair of asses in front of him as they’d walked.
Julia blushed. “Should he be taking pictures of his niece like that?” She didn’t think her whisper would carry, but in the still of the wooded glade in the center of the island, it must have.
Hank chuckled before lowering the camera. “Nice butts, ladies, this will be fun. Best tell her, Katie.”
“Tell me what?”
Katie didn’t answer for a second, just reached up and pushed the straps of the life vest off Julia’s shoulders, exposing her bikini. The red garment was quite modest compared to several of the others Julia owned, but she still felt exposed.
“I’ll let you into a secret.”
“Oh?”
“He’s not really my uncle. He’s a family friend, who’s always been Uncle Hank to me.”
Julia’s jaw dropped open at the revelation, and her mouth remained agape as Katie reached down and pulled her own T-shirt off over her head in a single smooth motion. She too was wearing a bikini top under the shirt, black rather than red.
“Nice, ladies, nice. Now stand closer together. These pictures are going to be good.”
Katie moved around behind Julia, placing the redhead between her and the camera. She placed her hand on Julia’s neck and rubbed gently. “He’s good, you know, very good. I’ve modeled for him before. You don’t strike me as the particularly shy type, Julia.”
“I’m not, but I am married.”
“So? This is just between friends. I’ll let you into another secret.”
“What?” Julia could feel the younger woman’s fingers toying with the strap behind her neck.
“I was going to model for him today, anyway.”
Julia allowed herself a little smile. “I guessed as much when you didn’t seem too upset at the prospect.”
“I always model for him on these little expeditions. I rarely get the chance to model with anyone else, though, so this is a big bonus. A really big bonus for me, for him, and, I hope, an enjoyable one for you too.” Katie wasn’t talking anymore she was almost breathing her words straight into Julia’s ear. Her fingers had found the knot behind Julia’s neck and were working at loosening it. Julia felt her breathing quicken, her nipples tighten. It appeared she was about to be topless in front of yet another camera, to pay for her ride back across the lake.
“Ermm…just what kind of modeling are we supposed to be doing?”
She felt rather than saw Katie shrug behind her. The slight movement made the other woman’s breasts move against her back. That forced a shiver that made Katie chuckle before she answered. “Topless, for starters.”
“Topless? Starters?”
“Well, nude as well, probably.”
“The two of us?” Julia could hear her voice getting shrill. It wasn’t that she hadn’t done this before, just not something she’d ever done with people she’d just met. Okay, Steve hadn’t been a stranger, even if his friend Jim had been. There again, those modeling sessions had ended up as something rather more. “Just the two of us?”
“Don’t worry, Hank won’t be joining in. He prefers to watch through the camera lens.”
“Oh.”
“So why don’t we give him a show to remember?”
Before she could react, Katie nipped Julia’s earlobe between her teeth, literally pinning her in place as her fingers plucked the knot behind Julia’s neck undone. She went to move her hands to grab the front of the bikini to stop it falling away, but Katie was faster. She dropped the now trailing cords and reached around and grabbed Julia’s breasts. She squeezed until Julia gasped.
Her whisper in Julia’s ear was freighted with promise. “You want me to continue to squeeze and play with your pretty titties, or would you rather I let go and let Hank take pictures of their naked glory? Oooh…nice nipples, I can feel them hardening against my palms.”
Julia shuddered, knowing her cheeks were burning red with embarrassment at the truth in the younger woman’s words. Her nipples had stiffened the moment Katie had grabbed them. Not that they’d been totally flat before then, the situation had worked its magic on her before Katie had touched her sensitive breasts.
“Don’t let go, not yet.”
“Good girl. Right choice. Now, why don’t you reach around and undo the other knot so the bikini top can hit the floor?”
Katie had taken charge and seemed intent on dominating what happened in front of the camera. Hank just kept clicking the shutter and twisting the focus ring. He hadn’t said a word since they’d reached the sheltered glade. Julia looked beyond him, satisfying herself the glade wasn’t overlooked. She could see a little bit of the lak
e, an empty stretch of water near the jetty, but nothing more. She couldn’t even see the jetty and her ride out, the reason why she was doing this. Or rather, letting this be done to her, not doing much herself at all.
Without being prompted again, Julia reached around between Katie and herself and pulled the loose ends of the string holding her bikini top tight. The material loosened but was still held in place by the other woman’s hands.
“Good girl.”
Julia had decided to not just let Katie get everything all her own way. If she was going to end up topless, and probably fully nude, in front of Hank and his camera, then that would also be true for Katie. She’d noticed Katie’s bikini top had a front fastening. It was a simple matter to twist her hands around, reach between the younger woman’s breasts, which were a bit larger than her own, and flick the catch undone.
“Naughty girl.” The chuckle gave lie to Katie’s protest.
Julia pushed the bikini cups off Katie’s breasts and brought her hands down to her sides. Katie responded by pressing her body against Julia’s back. Her breasts felt warm, the erect nipples almost digging into her feeling like branding irons against her cooled flesh. Her gasp wasn’t feigned, and she closed her eyes in reflex for a moment as a wave of arousal washed through her.
Hank laughed and spoke for the first time in several minutes. “You got her going, Katie. I think she likes you. Show me her tits and then how about some kissing?”
“Coming up, Hank.”
Julia shuddered. Although Katie’s words seemed nonchalant, they were loaded with promise. It didn’t take more than a second to realize Katie was interested in her, and not just for modeling. It wasn’t going to be topless and then nude, more like topless, nude and then sex. If Katie was to be believed, Hank wouldn’t be taking part, meaning Katie intended to seduce Julia all on her own. Julia shivered, unable to prevent a physical reaction to her own thoughts. At least Katie was physically more attractive than the older man, which helped stoke Julia’s own desires.
“Lift your arms, sweetie, wrap them around my neck, arch your back to make these pretty little titties stand out even more. Don’t want to disappoint your audience, do we?”